Social media has turned everyone into marketers. Of course corporate brands are everywhere online, but the rise of the personal brand, social influencers, Instagram models, and viral videos has shown the possibility of individuals making their mark in the social media space. However, a constant between all social media use for marketing purposes, regardless of whether it’s for Nike or a single person, is the need for a well-considered strategy. Just because social media has made marketing more accessible for smaller enterprises doesn’t mean that it should be treated any less strategically than it is by multinational companies. Any good social media plan should have many components, but here are a few of the most important.

Social Media Plan Diversification

One of the first things to consider when creating a social media plan is: which platforms does my target market use? This is crucial for ensuring your marketing dollars are spent efficiently, and that you see the results you yearn for. Some strategies require a wide scope, targeting people across many platforms. Others, whether because of the product/services you offer or who you are targeting, are better off focusing on a single platform. Knowing which side of this distinction you fall on is key. A good social media plan is shaped around the platforms through which it is executed. Luckily, there are tools that can help you figure out what your social media portfolio should include. For instance, Facebook helps to estimate how many users fall under your desired demographics, including age, location, and interests. Taking advantage of these tools will set you on the path to social media planning success.

Content Strategy

Social media planning is all about ensuring you stay consistent with the brand you are promoting. Since social media marketing involves daily interaction with your targets, each of your posts, shares, and comments must align with the brand. For these reasons, your social media plan should also include guidelines regarding what kind of posts should be created and shared, as well as how the person in charge of the social media accounts should interact with people online. By taking some time in the beginning to lay out a comprehensive content strategy, the proper tone and messaging based on your brand can be ironed out initially, so that all that is needed is to follow these guidelines.

Social Media Scheduling

The execution of a social media plan involves keeping all of these ideas in order, which can be very time-consuming. It is also an ongoing process, never fully complete. The best way to handle these problems is to employ a social media scheduling tool, such as Hootsuite. These tools allow you to plan a full week of posts in advance, and then have peace of mind that the posts will be rolled out during the week, with your social media plan basically executing itself. Incorporating an execution plan like this will help to ensure that your social media plan can be easily translated from theory to reality.